The Mask: 1

SUMMER VACATION

Nico who has comforted Mikey was successful, he successfully made Mikey feel a little better. She was now eating in the dining room with her mother watching her. Nico and Mikey were hugging each other tightly for about an hour, and somehow, Mikey has calmed down because of that. Nico reasoned with her that she needs to get back up again even if the memories of that incident is still haunting her. She kept on shaking her head and saying that forgetting about it would be impossible. But Nico encouraged her that she doesn’t need to forget it, what she needs to do is move on. It might be hard, but she needs to move on, or else she will continue to suffer from the unfortunate past. Nico explained to her that everyone needs to move on from something, everyone needs to keep on going forward and not be defeated by your cruel past. Nico knows that moving on and just move forward is the hardest thing to do, especially when the memories of a gruesome event is still fresh. Mikey was beyond surprised by the fact that the boy whom she needs to protect and is always stuttering in front of people is now lecturing him, and his words are nothing but facts.

“Don’t let the nightmares devour you. You must be the one to swallow them, because no one else can help you recover but you.” These were the words that Nico has told her.

And it inspired Mikey to stand on her feet again and try to move on, it will be hard, but it will definitely be worth it. As she eats in the dining room with her mother, her father on the other hand is in the living room with Nico and was sitting on a sofa, facing each other. Mikey’s father was thanking Nico repeatedly for making their daughter slightly feel well. Nico told him that it was nothing, and said that if they need any help, don’t be shy to just call him. He then advised him to stick with Mikey as often as possible, let her mother sleep with her so that once she is having a nightmare, she will have someone who will wake her up and comfort her after watching another horrible scene. Her father said that he will do what Nico has said since Nico also told him that Mikey was not sleeping because of those nightmares, and that’s the reason why she had puffy eyes. It was not just because of her all-out crying, but it was also because of her sleepless night. The room of Mikey was now cleaned by Nico and her father. And as the clock reached 12 midnight, Nico excuses himself as his grandparents will look for her. Mikey’s father nodded at him and Nico went to the dining room and saw Mikey still eating. Mikey looked at him and immediately rushed to hug him. Her mother was happy to see that her daughter is now somehow returning back to normal. It will be a hard and painful journey, but all of them knows that Mikey will conquer her tragic past and move on.

“Ma’am, I’ll be going.” Says Nico to Mikey’s mother.

Mikey looked up at his face and stared at him with those puppy eyes. She is clearly insisting that Nico would stay, but unfortunately, he can’t. He has grandparents who is waiting for him, and he is sure to have a mouthful of lectures once he gets home. Mikey then held Nico tighter and refusing to let go.

“Mikey, dear. He needs to go home. He’ll come back if he has the time.” says calmly by her mother.

Mikey then looked up again at Nico’s face,

“You will come over again, right? Please come back!” she says.

Nico gave her a smile and patted her head, “I will come back, I promise. And once I come back, I will be strong enough to protect you, okay?” Nico said.

Mikey gave him a tight hug again “You can go strong, powerful or be brave once you come back, but please. Please be the same old Nico, promise?” she told him.

Nico looked at her mother and both smiled at each other.

“I will, now, eat up and complete your sleep because you need to rest. I will come back, and you must promise me that once I return, you will be the Mikey who is cheerful and always positive, promise?” says Nico.

Mikey then let go of him and she is expecting that that hug will be the last one, a hug to Nico one last time.

“I promise.” She says then pointed up her pinky.

Nico answered it and they made a pinky swear, and now Nico needs to fulfill his promise. He will make the world a better place to Mikey, and he will not fail to do it, even if it cost him his life. Nico then said farewell to Mikey and her mother. Mikey and her mother accompanied him up to the door where her father suddenly hugged Nico,

“Thank you.” He whispered.

Nico nodded then went outside, he looked back and saw Mikey showing off her pinky which Nico did also. He then waved goodbye and went on his way. He was lucky to have ridden the last train headed to his house since taking the train is the fastest way to get home. And he was also fortunate as there was no one in the car and so Sin slithered out of Nico’s pocket and discussed their upcoming training.

“So, when do we start?” Sin asked.

Nico sighed and smirked at Sin “We’ll start tomorrow, I’ve received a message from our school and it says that summer vacation will start tomorrow, and all of the students have automatically passed. And it also says that the new school year will start after 4 months, so we have 4 months to become stronger.” Nico says.

And it obviously impressed Sin. The place where they would train will be the vacation house of his late parents deep inside the woods where no one can see them. Sin agreed to that but asked Nico if there’s food there, Nico sighed and told him that they will hunt for food and it will be beneficial for the both of them since it will also be a good way to train their stealth. As they went home, they continued to plan their training. And the next day, they will start to train to get stronger in order to fight, defeat and devour those damn masks.